An Ordinary Afternoon
by Kristen3
Summary: An otherwise uneventful day with three-year-old David leads Daphne to realize just how wonderful her son is. One-shot. Christmas present for the lovely Andrea (iloveromance)!


**Author's Note: **This story is a Christmas gift for Andrea (**iloveromance**) in gratitude for all of her love and support, especially in dedicating some of her recent stories to me. I felt it was only right to return the favor!

The phone rang unexpectedly. Though Daphne loved being at home with three-year-old David, she sometimes felt a bit lonely. It was hard to have an adult conversation with her son. He'd become quite the talker lately, though. His newest favorite words were "cat" and "doggy." The latter had been picked up after many visits with his grandfather and Eddie.

"Hello, my love," Niles said when she picked up the phone. "I had a few minutes to kill before my next session, and I thought I'd call the most beautiful woman in Seattle, and see how she's doing."

Daphne smiled at the implied compliment. "Well, I can't complain. David and I were just watching some cartoons."

"How is my sweet boy?"

"He's been talking up a storm." Daphne stood, deciding it would be all right to leave her son alone in the living room, as long as she could see him from the kitchen doorway. She didn't want to be distracted by the TV during this conversation with her husband.

Just as she reached her new location, David spoke up. "Cat, Mama. Cat!" Still absorbed in Niles' anecdote from this morning's session, she merely glanced at the TV. She saw a familiar cat-food commercial, one which featured dancing felines. She took the phone away from her lips for a moment. "Yes, David. Cat. That's very good." She nodded encouragingly, but privately she wished she could speak to Niles without interruption.

A few minutes later, Niles had reached the end of his story, and Daphne was just about to ask what time he thought he'd be home. But before she could even get the words out, David's plastic Fisher-Price Wiffle Ball hit her in the knee. Pain shot through her immediately. "Bloody hell," she whispered. She took a few deep breaths until the discomfort subsided a bit. "Niles, I'll have to talk to you later, because I need to remind someone about why we don't throw things inside the house." She glared at her son, hoping he would get the message. She hung the phone up. "David Martin Crane, how many times have I told you _not_ to throw things like this in the house?"

Much to Daphne's surprise, David's eyes welled with tears. "Mama, you didn't catch," he said, as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Is that what you were trying to say?" Daphne asked. "You wanted me to catch the ball?"

David nodded tearfully. "Uh-huh. I said 'catch' just like Grandpa does." All at once Daphne remembered an incident from last week, when Martin had thrown a tennis ball to Eddie. Naturally, the dog fetched it immediately. Apparently, David had been watching more closely than she'd realized. She hugged her son tightly. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, David. I'm sure your grandfather would be thrilled that you want to play ball. But you can't go around throwing things inside the house. You could break something. And you definitely shouldn't try to play catch with me when I'm on the phone. I wasn't paying attention, and I didn't know you were going to throw the ball. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mama."

Daphne kissed her son's tear-stained cheek. She hadn't meant to upset her son like this, but she also knew she had to make sure he understood he'd done something wrong. It was hard to tell if he really got it, since he was so young, but she thought he did. There didn't seem to be much sense in dwelling on it. "Hey, why don't we go and visit your grandfather for a while?"

David brightened up at this. The sight of his smile made Daphne feel much better. She took her son over to Martin and Ronee's house. Martin was overjoyed to see his favorite grandson, and Daphne was even able to get a few minutes of his daily exercise in.

Thankfully, Ronee was willing to entertain David so that Martin wouldn't be distracted by his grandson while doing his daily stretches. Daphne took the opportunity to tell her father-in-law what had happened earlier.

"Aw, Jeez, Daph, I'm sorry. When Fras and Niles were growing up, I never had to worry about them throwing anything – except maybe a tantrum!" He grinned.

"It isn't your fault," Daphne replied, helping him up. "I was the one who wasn't paying attention to me own son. When he started crying, I felt like the worst mum in the world."

"You're a wonderful mother," Martin said immediately. "David loves you. You think you're the first parent who ever got angry with their kid in the heat of the moment? I worked for awhile handling domestic disputes. _Those_ people were bad parents. Not you."

His words made Daphne feel relieved for the first time since it had happened. She knew Niles would've said the same thing, but somehow she trusted Martin's word more. She knew the old man wouldn't have been afraid to tell her if she had made a mistake. "Thanks," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

Martin smiled as he took a seat in his favorite chair.

Before anyone could say anything else, the unmistakable sound of tiny feet running into the room could be heard. "Look, Mommy!" In David's hands was a drawing. It didn't look like anything Daphne could identify, until David helpfully informed her, "It's a heart." Only then did Daphne notice the handwriting, which was clearly Ronee's. It said _I love Mom_. Just below that, David had attempted to sign his name. Daphne could barely make out the letters.

Ronee entered the room just behind her step-grandson. Though she had taken awhile to warm up to the boy, she couldn't deny any longer that he was a sweet and adorable kid - not unlike his father at that age. When David had suggested drawing a picture for his mom, Ronee was more than willing to help. She never would've believed it years ago, but little Niles was now a grown man, and a wonderful father. David was proof.

Daphne hugged her son tightly, thanking him profusely for his drawing. She already knew exactly where to hang it on the refrigerator when they got home. "I think it's time to go now, David." Daphne tried her best to keep her tone calm, because the boy was often reluctant to leave his grandfather. "Did you have fun with Grandpa and Ronee?"

David nodded enthusiastically. He waved bye-bye to the two adults, and they both waved back.

As she carried her son out to the car, Daphne still couldn't get over what had happened here. Had David inherited a bit of her psychic powers? Did he somehow sense that she was upset? She knew there was no way to really know for sure, but, either way, she was grateful David was hers.

**The End**


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